Paul Ince rumours puzzle Blackpool

Blackpool are privately baffled by suggestions Paul Ince has today offered his resignation, five months after taking over as manager at the Championship club.

The 45-year-old is understood to have taken training this morning at the club’s pre-season training base in Portugal and to have discussed transfer targets with the club’s chairman Karl Oyston.

Oyston has received no indication from Ince (above) that he wants to leave, despite the club’s message boards being rife with rumours in the past few weeks. Ince, who currently faces a tough low-budget recruitment period to a replace a number of established players who are leaving Blackpool, could not be reached.

The relationship between Ince and Oyston is a challenging one, with the former Manchester United, Liverpool and England midfielder far less comfortable with the chairman’s wheeler-dealer methods and reluctance to spend than Ian Holloway was.